Terlingua, Texas
“With all this shit going on…”
It’s been a time, y’all. Taking this COVID-19 thing seriously is tiring. My job puts me in contact with the public daily, and so I really haven’t been doing much outside of work in order to limit my own exposure, and the exposure I bring to others. I miss restaurants. I miss shopping. I miss brunching with friends. I miss visiting family. Like many of you, I had turned to social media in an attempt to feel connected to people. And like many of you, I quickly tired of the barrage of pain and negativity that fills my feeds there. That’s what has led to this! I want a place to keep everyone updated without the noise. No comment section. No Likes to covet. Just me letting you know what I’ve been up to for the last month. What brought me joy. What I learned. What I liked. What I learned to like. What I think you might like. And what’s on these pages is not the conversation. The conversation is between us. So email me! Text me! Buy me a telegraph and teach me morse code! You can even call me. On my phone. Yes, a millennial is allowing phone calls.
It’s that simple.
What do we have that’s truly simple anymore?
I hope you enjoy!
July 2-6
For Dan’s birthday, we booked a getaway. One night, we were both laying on the couch, weighted by the now-familiar feeling of not having one damn thing to do but watch Netflix and order Uber Eats. Dan suggested an AirBNB getaway to somewhere remote, low COVID-19 risk, and beautifully relaxing. He browsed nearby cities, and I searched the entire state of Texas. That’s where things began to go awry. I’m not a geographoligist. I was in my late 20s when I learned Puerto Rico is not actually off the coast of New York. (West Side Story really led me astray with that one.) So I forgot how gigantic Texas truly is, and how diverse the landscape. I stumbled upon a listing for a cute AirBNB in Terlingua. In the desert. In July. Dan loved it, and I love Dan, so I agreed that we should go. To the desert. In Texas. In July. Let me tell you the reluctance was real. I was constantly “joking” that I was going to go die in the desert and just melt away. My “jokes” were thinly veiled cries for help. I am not a heat-tolerant species.
Much like my geographying, what I thought I would experience in Terlingua was quite different than what I actually experienced! That little ghost town is such an amazing place. Even in July. Even in the Texas desert heat. It helped that the AirBNB air conditioner was very functional and kept our little bedroom a cozy 68º all weekend. The place we stayed was a restored old mining house made of the same stacked rocks that cover the landscape there, and adobe.
Betty’s stunning AirBNB house in Terlingua, Texas
I cannot rave enough about this house. In between the stones are tiny knick-knacks of infinite varieties. Beer bottle caps, wine corks, pottery shards, tiny toys, something that looked like a guitar fret clampy thing… It is really something you can spend a while exploring on its own. When you drive up, you immediately notice the plants and landscaping. Yes, landscaping in a rocky desert. Betty collects the rainwater off the house to water several beautiful plants around the house. And the plants in the front garden bed happily drink water from the kitchen sink! There’s a covered porch with a bed for laying out and enjoying the weather. (It’s not 100º+ all the time) The kitchen had everything Dan and I needed to cook all our own meals while there, except our one dinner out at the Starlight Theater restaurant. The bedroom has the aforementioned glorious air conditioner and an incredibly comfortable bed, as well as a reading/relaxing loft above. I’m 6’ 3” and was comfortable getting up there and reading through a book. Out back is a detached bathroom, which sounds weird at first, but ended up feeling like a luxury experience somehow. There’s also an outdoor shower, where you can just look out on the views while showering. It’s a whole thing. A wholly amazing thing. And with the desert air, you dry off so quickly after a shower.
It’s a special feeling being in such a small town for a few days. Technically, Terlingua isn’t a city, nor a town. It’s a Census Designated Place. And at the last census, the population was 56. The nearest large grocery store is in Alpine, a solid 1.5 hours away. My city self truly does not know how people exist there long term. It would be easy to write-off all the locals as misfits and weirdos, but that’s not really true. I do think you need to be a certain kind of person to uproot your life and land there, but the people we saw and met there were all nice and had an engaging way that draws you in. Maybe that’s the secret. Maybe they’re all introverts who found a space to allow them to engage in smaller doses and recharge in solitary peace. That’s a life I can understand.
There are several art galleries in Terlingua, and they all have treasures. On Friday, Dan and I were in the front yard of the house, and a peregrine falcon (one of my all time favorite birds since I was a kid, because I’m an animal nerd) dove right over our heads. The shrill missile-like whistle of the bird slicing though the air at 200 mph caught Dan off-guard, and then I got to share my animal nerd knowledge! On Saturday, while in the Painted Feather Gallery, the owner, Dani, was truly a treat. Dani paints and draws many things, but mostly animals. She was working on a drawing of a dragon, and had two versions that each blew my non-artistic mind. She wanted our thoughts on which version was better. (I let Dan answer because I can only draw stick figures that neither resemble stick nor figure, while he has actual artistic talent.) We browsed through the gallery, and then I saw it. A drawing of a peregrine falcon against a gold foil sun. That might be the first time I had a “we HAVE to have this!” moment with art. Later, in the Earth & Fire Gallery, I had another such moment for a photograph of a dog in a suit.
Terlingua is in between Big Bend National Park, and Big Bend State Ranch. The National Park was closed, locals said it was because one visitor tested positive for COVID-19. We all kind of had a chuckle at shutting down an entire National Park larger than Connecticut for one case, but it is what it is. We still found beautiful hikes in the State Ranch Friday and Saturday mornings. Friday we did the Hoodoos Trail. I say “trail” because there’s allegedly one. We just never found it. We just ended up climbing some giant rocks. (Not the actual hoodoos of course. People who destroy marvels of nature are evil.) Saturday morning we did the Closed Canyon Trail. Other than someone with a bluetooth speaker blasting music on the trail through the canyon, it was glorious. Don’t be that person. Nobody likes that person. (And if you’re that person and fall down later in the canyon and drop your camera in the mud, I will laugh at you for days to come.) I got some amazing photos on those hikes, and saw so much natural beauty.
I went to a country music concert, y’all.
Okay, maybe not really, but these two were performing at the Starlight theater Restaurant & Saloon that we went to for Dan’s birthday dinner. I fully groaned when I realized we showed up for dinner right as they were starting. But then I actually listened to them, and they both have such beautiful voices, especially Kathy! They even sang some songs I know! The music was good, the food was good, and the margaritas were very very good! Starlight Theater Restaurant & Saloon in Terlingua even has several vegetarian dinner options! It was a great dinner and show, responsibly socially distanced, of course!
I cannot describe adequately how relaxing our time in Terlingua was. Terlingua is famous for their Chili Cookoff every November (except maybe this year. Thanks, Coronavirus!), so if you aren’t a vegetarian, think of checking that out, but also consider going in the off-season like we did, and truly live at the easiest pace and just take in desert life and living. I know you’ll enjoy it.
The poem in the bathroom of Betty’s AirBNB. Reading this while having this time with Dan, I felt this poem in my soul.